Are You Even Aware of It Though? (Continued)

If you didn't read it you can catch up here.

So, why am I so passionate about this?

Well for starters, for years and years - so many years, I truly believed life was something that happened to us; something we had to ‘react’ to and ‘deal with’ whatever was sent our way. And once we’d ‘dealt with’ the massive list of demands, responsibilities and obligations -that the spare bit left over, was where we got to choose to create, to live, the life we actually wanted to be living..

So my first ‘are you aware?’ is really ‘are you aware that space is something you can create any time?’ Because that whole ‘once I’ve done these things, I’ll be able to create that space?’ That’s not a thing! The list of demands, responsibilities and obligations is (I’m sorry to say!) a list you won’t ever complete - there’s always new bits being added. So then, when? When is the time to live this one precious life of yours? Where is that space?

And the other reason I’m so passionate about this? Well here goes… and this is really the crux of it for me. Now, my genuine apologies if this is somewhat triggering, but we have to get real in life, face up to realities, if we really want to live. And I mean LIVE (not exist).

This week, a very old friend of mine was painfully diagnosed with breast cancer. Receiving that news properly stopped me in my tracks. Sadly, I’m no stranger to our life being affected by cancer (🌹), as many of us can sadly resonate with. But this was a friend I’ve known since I was 11. She’s my age. One of my crew from school. It hit.

And this news came just two weeks after being at an in-person event with some truly wonderful entrepreneurs in my world. As we were going around the table, introducing ourselves, one of the gorgeous women told us all she too had breast cancer. She expanded by saying how life-shifting that news was - literally changed everything. NOW she was living.

And this also very sadly coincides with a few weeks where my precious mum has lost three dear friends, all very close together. So, so hard.

And it got me really conscious, really wondering, why does it take for something bad to happen to make us sit up, wake up, to take action to consciously enjoy our lives?

Of course I recognise that it naturally jolts us into acknowledging the fragility of life. The short time we could have here. But that urgency it creates, it never seems to last long does it, before the every-day takes priority again…

Life is just as precious every single day and I think the more we get present and consciously make ourselves aware of this, aware of how lucky we are to be here in every single moment we get to be here, the more we start to really enjoy it.

Please, let’s not waste a single moment.

And so, what if instead of waiting for something to go wrong to change how we live, we built a life that already feels great starting RIGHT NOW? So that if something did go wrong, we could look back and say, well, I’ve lived exactly as I wanted to anyway.

(Within reason, of course—I’ll never enjoy cleaning out the dishwasher filter, but I’m grateful I don’t have to wash up in the first place!)

Well guess what? This is exactly what nervous system regulation work does.

By taking time to weave some consistent, really enjoyable and easy regulation practices into your day, you’re not just doing a few bullsh*t ‘wellness’ routines for the good of ticking off a list, to once again feeling ‘accomplished’. You are physically, day by day, physiologically increasing your nervous system’s capacity to stay in a regulated state.

This regulated state (Ventral Vagal if you care to know!) is the state that allows you to really enjoy your life. Where you feel properly connected to yourself, others and the world around you. The state where you get to create this beautiful life experience with inner peace, ease and flow. Even whilst cleaning the dishwasher filter (gross!).

You’re not changing anything in the external world at all, just how you experience it by changing the state of your nervous system. Because when your nervous system feels safe, when it’s not scanning for threats and operating from a survival state, it no longer needs to keep you hypervigilant, second-guessing, or bracing for ‘what’s next’. Instead, it allows you to be present. To feel good in the moment. To actually enjoy your life, rather than just 'get through' it.

Through consciously engaging in just a short few intentional regulation practices throughout your day, you are building up that feeling of ‘safety’ in your system, consciously creating a life you really enjoy living - incrementally. Not waiting for some future moment where things are “done” and you finally have the space to live.

What we are actually all trying to create when we think about the life you we want to live in our big vision dreams… The business/financial success, the material things, the relationships, the family, the holidays, the friendships we’re lucky to have… The Gucci bag (Not me but for some…). is the ‘feeling’ it evokes from the inside out. It’s all about the feeling of inner peace. Fulfilment. Presence and enjoyment. That’s everything we all want.

That’s really what we’re all striving for.

And when you become aware of your nervous system, you can make changes from the inside out that create that feeling even before any of the external stuff comes into the picture.

So let’s stop waiting until something bad happens, or we are feeling completely anxious, overwhelmed and quite frankly crap, to start taking conscious steps toward feeling really good. Let’s grab hold of it RIGHT NOW and decide we are going to make it happen. Make life happen. From the inside out.

We are doing it already over in REGULATE (For just £5 per MONTH!). Have a nosey and see what it’s all about here. We’d love you to come in too.

Make this a superb week you lovely, lovely lot.